Trump hits 8 NATO allies with tariffs as he pursues Greenland

President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on goods from European countries rallying to Denmark’s side in his pursuit of Greenland, a dramatic escalation in the standoff that sparked strong pushback from some of the U.S.’s closest allies.

Trump threatened in a social media post to impose the tariff Feb. 1 and raise the levy to 25% in June unless and until “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”

The tariffs will apply to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, he said.

The explosive move targets several members of the NATO alliance, which includes Denmark. Those countries now face the prospect of punitive tariffs from an ally seeking to pry loose territory within the bloc.

The European Union said Saturday that it stands behind Denmark and Greenland, and a senior European lawmaker called for a halt to a U.S.-EU trade truce sealed with Trump in July. EU national ambassadors will meet Sunday to discuss the bloc’s next steps, according to a person familiar with the matter.

“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa said in a joint statement. “Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty.”

French President Emmanuel Macron branded Trump’s threats “unacceptable.” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country wouldn’t be “blackmailed” and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the use of tariffs on NATO allies “completely wrong,” saying he’ll take up the matter with the U.S.

“The Pandora’s box of tariffs has been reopened — and the stakes are higher, with an unprecedented level of brutality,” said Simone Tagliapietra, senior researcher at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. “Europe now has no choice but to confront this hostile act with strength and without hesitation, including by resorting to its anti-coercion instruments.”

EU lawmakers are poised to halt last year’s trade deal with the U.S. after Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party group, said Saturday that agreement with the U.S. “is not possible at this stage.”

The EPP is the parliament’s largest faction and if EPP lawmakers join left-leaning political groups, it’s likely they’d have enough votes to delay or block the deal.

It’s not immediately clear what legal authority Trump would use — and, in turn, whether the tariffs are certain to take effect — or how he would seek to apply individual new tariffs to EU member states. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional information.

Trump has relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act previously for similar threats. His use of that authority is the basis of a landmark Supreme Court case, with a ruling expected soon. The court’s ruling could upend Trump’s threat; one alternative the administration has weighed, so-called Section 122 powers, are capped at 15% tariffs for 150 days.

Altogether, that raises questions about whether Trump will be able to enact the tariffs and for how long.

Under a trade agreement struck in July, Washington imposed a 15% tariff on most goods the EU exports to the U.S. and 50% on steel and aluminum, as well as on many derivative products that contain the metals. The European Parliament still hasn’t ratified that accord, which has angered the Trump administration.

Trump’s move follows a week of meetings in Washington by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen with top Trump administration figures and members of Congress, along with Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, who also participated.

Denmark and Greenland remain in a stalemate with the U.S. over the future of the world’s largest island, though officials this week agreed to set up a working group to manage the diplomatic dispute.

Denmark said it plans to coordinate with EU allies and other partners.

“The president’s announcement comes as a surprise,” Denmark’s Rasmussen said in an emailed statement. “The purpose of the increased military presence in Greenland, which the president refers to, is specifically to enhance security in the Arctic.”

Trump’s move also flies in the face of trade deals Trump has already struck, such as with the UK. His track record of tearing up agreements, or simply disregarding them, will hang over ongoing talks with other countries, such as Mexico and Canada, with whom Trump wants to rewrite the three-way deal he signed in his first term.

Denmark had invited NATO allies to take part in training activities in Greenland, with several European nations having now dispatched personnel to the island. The U.S. is among those invited, according to a Danish military official.

Several European countries responded to that request as a way to show that the continent was taking seriously its role in helping to defend Greenland.

Germany sent 15 soldiers for an “exploration mission” to Greenland, France is sending 15 soldiers, Sweden is sending “several officers,” Norway two people, Finland two liaison officers and the UK is dispatching one officer. The Netherlands is sending two people, according to the defense ministry.

“We have also made clear that Arctic security matters for the whole of NATO and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic,” the UK’s Starmer said.

The deployment of European soldiers in Greenland highlights the urgency that Europe sees to respond to U.S. threats and pressure.

“These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” Trump wrote in his post.

A senior German lawmaker said that Europe shouldn’t yield to Trump. “This seems to be a typical Trump reflex. When he doesn’t get his way, he resorts to the tariff whip,” said Andreas Schwarz, a member of Germany’s ruling Social Democrats. “We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated by this. International law cannot be changed by tariffs.”

The U.S. is open to negotiations with Denmark and the European countries that have been involved, Trump wrote in the post.

“We’re talking about acquiring — not leasing, not having it short-term, we’re talking about acquiring and if we don’t do it, Russia or China will and that’s not going to happen while I’m president,” Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Florida.

Trump acknowledged there was already a large U.S. military base in Greenland. He said he could build up the forces on the base, but “we have to have ownership. You really need title, as they say in the real estate business.”

Trump said the US needs Greenland to build out its Golden Dome project, which is in early-stage development. “This very brilliant, but highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency, because of angles, metes, and bounds, if this Land is included in it,” Trump said.

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(With assistance from Charles Daly, Claudia Cohen, Richard Bravo, Sanne Wass, Ewa Krukowska, Kamil Kowalcze, Jorge Valero and Heidi Taksdal Skjeseth.)

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